Ajit Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was killed in a tragic plane crash on Wednesday morning while travelling from Mumbai to Baramati. Four others on board, including the pilots and members of Pawar’s security detail, also lost their lives.
The small aircraft departed Mumbai at around 8:00 am and crashed near Baramati airport during an attempted landing approximately 45 minutes later. According to reports, Ajit Pawar was scheduled to attend four major public meetings in Baramati ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
Visuals from the crash site showed thick smoke and fire, with the aircraft reduced to mangled debris. Emergency services rushed to the scene, and ambulances were seen transporting the injured to nearby hospitals. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that all five people on board died in the accident.
Ajit Pawar, 66, was the nephew of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, who were in Delhi attending the Parliament’s budget session, are expected to return to Pune shortly.
In 2023, Ajit Pawar led a rebellion within the NCP that resulted in the party splitting into two factions—one under his leadership and the other led by Sharad Pawar. He subsequently joined the NDA government and assumed office as Deputy Chief Minister. In recent months, however, there had been speculation about a possible reunion of the two factions, which jointly contested the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections.
Last Wednesday, Indian Air Force aircraft crashed into a water body in Prayagraj.
Rescue operations are underway. Details of the incident are still emerging. Authorities said more information is awaited.
The latest event comes in the backdrop of heightened scrutiny of aviation safety of the Indian fighters jets after the Tejas fighter jet crash at the Airshow in the United Arab Emirate in November last year, where an Indian Air Force aircraft went down during a demonstration flight, resulting in the pilot’s death.
In June last year, Air India plane has crashed at Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat with 242 passengers on board on board.
According to the news agency ANI, the plane caught fire after crashing, and fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze, said fire officer Jayesh Khadia.
“A plane crashed in the Meghaninagar area near the airport. It is not yet clear what type of plane it was,” said Ahmedabad police commissioner, GS Malik.
